Joachim Kühn – This Way Out (MPS, 1973)

Joachim Kühn (p, as); Gerd Dudek (ts, ss, fl); Peter Warren (b, vc); Daniel Humair (d, perc)

Recorded in January 1973

I suppose many of you will recall the long-gone "Magic Purple Sunshine," a blog dedicated to sharing music released on Hans Georg Brunner-Schwer's Musik Produktion Schwarzwald (MPS) [in English, Music Production Black Forest] label.  Now that MPS has been acquired by Edel and made most of their catalog available again (if only as downloads), a blog like "Magic Purple Sunshine" no longer serves a valid purpose.  But there was a time when it was valuable, providing access to music that was otherwise only available on cost-prohibitive LPs.  This was especially true to an American like me.  I had very little exposure to the music released on the label -- aside from a few big names (like Basie and Oscar Peterson) and a smattering of titles licensed to PAUSA.  Some commentators have even argued that blogs "Magic Purple Sunshine" played a role in changing younger people's attitudes about jazz in the 1970s.  A great deal of the music from the decade was unavailable, but people sharing it via the blogoshere facilitated exposure for the music to a new generation that wasn't there when it was happening the first time.  (Of course, like most things about the internet, there's another side of the coin.  Artists and others who deserved payment for their work weren't getting paid.  I fully acknowledge that problem.  But that's another topic for another day.)

The point of all this?  I'm fairly certain that I never would have discovered Joachim Kühn's This Way Out if it weren't for the "Magic Purple Sunshine" blog.  And I'm glad I found it, because I think the album is excellent.  It's also music that Kühn is himself describes as distinctively "European Jazz" in the album's liner notes.  The band is consciously attempting to bringing a new sensibility, a new set preoccupations to the table, and I think that's almost always a valuable enterprise.

The double-album consists of one trio LP and and one quartet LP, which adds Gerd Dudek on tenor & soprano sax as well as flute.  As much as I enjoy Dudek's playing (and I do), I prefer the trio cuts.  This configuration anticipates the superb and influential trio that Joachim Kühn and Daniel Humair would later form with French double bassist Jean-François Jenny-Clark.

Joe Henderson – Multiple (Milestone, 1973)

Joe Henderson (ts, ss, fl, perc, vo); James "Blood" Ulmer (g, 1 trk only); John Thomas (g, 1 trk only); Larry Willis (el p, ring modulator, Echoplex); Dave Holland (b, el b); Jack DeJohnette (d); Arthur Jenkins (cga, perc)

Recorded on January 30 - 31, 1973 and in February & April 1973


Joe Henderson's Milestone recordings remain grievously overlooked, especially compared with his Blue Note titles, which most fans regard as masterpieces.  Let's look closely at just one year during Henderson's tenure on Milestone: 1973.  Recording-wise, I wouldn't hesitate to describe the year as superb.  Within a twelve-month period, he made three excellent LPs for Milestone: Multiple (mostly recorded in January); The Elements, featuring Alice Coltrane (recorded in October); and Canyon Lady (also recorded in October).  I think two of these -- Multiple and Canyon Lady -- should be counted among the best albums that Henderson ever made.  During the same year, Henderson also contributed as a sideman to several LPs that remain high points in the artist's discographies, including:
- Babatunde Olatunji - Soul Makossa (Paramount)
- Ron Carter - All Blues (CTI)
- Johnny Hammond - Higher Ground (Kudu)
- Flora Purim - Butterfly Dreams (Milestone)
- Charles Earland - Leaving This Planet (Prestige)

But has anyone ever lauded 1973 as a "banner year" for Joe Henderson? I don't think so. Has anyone ever hailed Multiple as "a masterpiece"?  I'm not familiar with anyone who has, but I think it is!

Just take a look at that rhythm section.  Larry Willis is fantastic on electric piano.  Just a few years earlier, Dave Holland and Jack DeJohnette were the backbone of Miles' famous "Lost Quintet" and were already regarded as young giants.  Percussionist Arthur Jenkins wasn't as well-known, but his credits tell the story.  During the 1970s, he also appeared on albums by Sonny Rollins, Harold Vick, Charles Earland, Rahsaan Roland Kirk, Hank Crawford, Robin Kenyatta, Ron Carter, Johnny Lytle, and many others. Obviously, saxophonists liked him.

The band is amazing, but Joe is the star of the show.  He composed three of the five titles on the album, and he plays wonderfully.  Listen to the opening cut, a ten-and-a-half minute track, titled "Tress-Cun-Deo-La."  If that doesn't convince you, this album may not be your cuppa Joe.

One suggestion for those who have Henderson's The Milestone Years (Milestone, 1994) box set: Create playlists or burn CD-Rs that mirror the LPs, so you can listen to the music in the order that it was meant to be heard originally.  I think the music on this set has much more impact if it's heard as it was originally programmed.  In my experience, this is true for nearly all box sets that compile music from the LP era, but I think it's especially instructive in this particular case.

Rahsaan Roland Kirk – Prepare Thyself to Deal with a Miracle (Atlantic, 1973)

Roland Kirk (ts, as, cl, fl, nose fl, black mystery pipes); Charles McGhee (tr); Dick Griffin (tb); Harry Smiles (ob); Ron Burton (p); Henry Mattathias Pearson (b); Robert Shy (d); Sonny Brown (perc); Ralph MacDonald (perc); Dee Dee Bridgewater (vo); Jeanne Lee (vo); Sanford Allen (vn); Julien Barber (vn); Selwart Clarke (vn); Gayle Dixon (vn); Al Brown (va); Kermit Moore (vc)

Recorded on January 22, 1973

Perhaps I'm in the minority, but I think Kirk's music from the 1970s takes a clear step forward from his work in the preceding decade.  It's as if Kirk's canvas kept expanding.  By 1970, he conceived his music as something massive and uncontainable and cosmic.  (Perhaps it's no coincidence that Kirk even changed his name in 1970.  He added Rahsaan to his name, after hearing it in a dream.)  Kirk's music would remain rooted in jazz -- and black music in general -- but during this time, it began to soar past the boundaries of those conventions.  (And that's saying something -- because Kirk was NEVER conventional.)  In the words of Duke Ellington, Kirk's music evolved into something "beyond category."

I don't think Kirk ever realized the grand, symphonic, and cosmic aspects of his music better than he did on Prepare Thyself to Deal with a Miracle.  It's a magnificent realization of his truly singular vision.

More Rahsaan Roland Kirk
Among his 1970s studio albums, I gravitate most toward:
- Natural Black Inventions: Root Strata (Atlantic, 1971)
- The Case of the 3 Sided Dream in Audio Color (Atlantic, 1975)
- The Return of the 5000 Lb. Man (Warner Brothers, 1976)

As far as live recordings go, Bright Moments (Atlantic, 1973) is probably Kirk's most famous. But I actually prefer three others more.  I, Eye, Aye: Live at the Montreux Jazz Festival, 1972 (Rhino) captures Kirk at his kaleidoscopic best.  Brotherman in the Fatherland: Recorded "Live" in Germany 1972 (Hyena) is the most impressive display of Kirk's saxophone prowess that I've heard.  If you want to hear Kirk playing with Coltrane-like fire and intensity, start with that one.  Rahsaan, Rahsaan (Atlantic), recorded at the Village Vanguard in May 1970, is also superb.

Lucky Thompson – Illuminations (Groove Merchant, 1974)

Lucky Thompson (ss, ts); Cedar Walton (p, el p, clst); Larry Ridley (b); Sam Jones (b); Billy Higgins (d); Louis Hayes (d)

Originally released as two Groove Merchant LPs: Goodbye Yesterday (1972) and I Offer You (1973).

Recorded in 1972 and 1973

Oh man, I love this music.  It's dear to my heart and indescribably beautiful -- especially the cuts featuring Thompson's work on the soprano.  Thompson plays the instrument like no one else; he was a complete original.  I don't know how he was able to express such stunning vulnerability.

Sadly, these LPs were among the last music that Lucky Thompson ever recorded.  Around this time, he was teaching at Dartmouth College.  Shortly thereafter, he left the music business.

Thompson lived until 2005, but his remaining years were very difficult.  By the early-1990s Thompson was living a hermit-like existence as a homeless person in Seattle, Washington. 

It's a sad story.  But Thompson's artistry lives on.  Don't deny yourself the opportunity to hear this life-affirming music.  It may not be well-known, but it should be.

Buddy Terry – Pure Dynamite (Mainstream, 1972)

Buddy Terry (fl, ss, ts); Eddie Henderson (tr); Woody Shaw (tr); Kenny Barron (p); Joanne Brackeen (el p); Buster Williams (b); Stanley Clarke (b); Billy Hart (d); Lenny White (d); Airto Moreira (perc); Mtume (perc)

Recorded in 1972

Jack McDuff – The Heatin' System (Cadet, 1972)

Jack McDuff (org, mel); Dave Young (sax); Donald Myrick (sax); Bobby Alston (tr); Marty Roberts (g); Phil Upchurch (b); Sam Jones (b, 2 trks only); Greg Williams (d); Frederick "Derf" Walker (cga)

Recorded in 1972

Not to be confused with McDuff's 1994 release on the Concord label with the same title.


I have a rhetorical question for everyone: Why do so many Jazz aficionados turn up their noses when it comes to Soul Jazz?  

We all love Miles, Monk, and Trane.  And many of us—maybe even most of us—love James Brown, Isaac Hayes, and Sly Stone.  But, for some reason, the music that lives between those two stylistic worlds somehow doesn't cut it.  It strikes me as oddly arbitrary.  And I don't think it makes sense from a musical or historical point of view.  ... Maybe it makes sense from a marketing point of view.  But we shouldn't ever let that sort of nonsense get in the way of hearing music, should we?!?!

Perhaps I'm overstating my case.  Let me just speak for myself.  I've been a jazz fan since the mid-1980s.  For years, I ignored Soul Jazz.  It wasn't any sort of explicit bias. I never said to myself, "I dislike Soul Jazz."  Nothing like that.  It was something else.  Even though I loved exploring the nooks and crannies in the House of Jazz, I rarely found my way into the Soul Jazz rooms.  And the Soul Jazz rooms are big rooms, important rooms, rooms full of wonderful, vital music.

Let me clarify one thing: I'm NOT saying that you should like Soul Jazz.  I am saying that you should listen for yourself.  What's come to be known as the "historical record" or the "received wisdom" is NOT trustworthy.  Go in one of those Soul Jazz rooms, sit down, and listen a while.  I think you'll find that many of the preconceived notions that many of us have carried around for a long time just don't hold up under the light of the music.  I know that's what happened to me.  And why, why, why should we deny ourselves the enjoyment and pleasure of hearing all that glorious music? 

Ladies and Gentlemen, I present to you Exhibit A in my case in favor of this strangely overlooked sub-genre in the House of Jazz: Jack McDuff's Heatin' System.  Is there a good reason that this music has never been reissued on CD?  Is there a good reason that no one talks about this record in the jazz history books?  Does it have anything to do with the quality of the music?  I'm biting my tongue, people!  I'm biting my tongue because I'm not going to say one word about this gloriously ambitious, funky, vital, and joyous music.  There's no need.  You have ears!  All I ask is that you listen!  Listen closely and then decide for yourself.

A peek inside the double-LP gatefold:

Oscar Peterson & Ben Webster – During This Time (Art of Groove/MIG, 2014)

Ben Webster (ts); Oscar Peterson (p); Niels-Henning Ørsted Pedersen; Tony Inzalaco (d)

Recorded on December 14, 1972

Duke Ellington & Ray Brown – This One's for Blanton (Pablo, 1975)

Duke Ellington (p); Ray Brown (b)

Recorded on December 5, 1972

Dave Holland Quartet – Conference of the Birds (ECM, 1973)

Dave Holland (b); Sam Rivers (reeds, fl); Anthony Braxton (reeds, fl); Barry Altschul (perc, mar)

Recorded on November 30, 1972

Stanley Cowell Trio – Illusion Suite (ECM, 1973)

Stanley Cowell (p); Stanley Clarke (b); Jimmy Hopps (d)

Recorded on November 29, 1972

Catalyst – Perception (Muse, 1973)

Nwalinu [Odean Pope] (ts, fl); Sanifu [Eddie Green] (el p); Patrick Gleeson (syn); Norman Harris (g); Anthony Jackson (b, track 5 only); Zuri [Tyrone Brown] (el b); Onaje [Sherman Ferguson] (d, perc); Larry Washington (cga, track 5 only); Farel Johnson (cga, perc); Jabali [Billy Hart] (perc)

Recorded on November 21 - 27, 1972

Reissued as part of the 2-CD set The Funkiest Band You Never Heard (32 Groove, 1999).

Gary Burton & Chick Corea – Crystal Silence (ECM, 1973)

Gary Burton (vib); Chick Corea (p, el p)

Recorded on November 6, 1972

Write-up coming shortly.

Gary Bartz Ntu Troop – Juju Street Songs (Prestige, 1972)

Gary Bartz (as, ss, sopranino s, el p, perc); Andy Bey (vo, el p, perc); Stafford James (b, el b, vo, perc); Howard King (d, vo, perc)

Recorded in October 1972

Reissued on CD in 1997, paired with Follow the Medicine Man (Prestige, 1973).

Write-up coming shortly.

Ruby Braff & Ellis Larkins – The Grand Reunion (Chiaroscuro, 1972)

Ruby Braff (cor); Ellis Larkins (p)

Recorded on October 14, 1972

Braff and Larkins made some wonderful duo recordings for Vanguard in 1956 while John Hammond was producing records for the label.  [These record have been reissued on Vanguard as Duets, Vol. 1 (1999) and Duets, Vol. 2 (2000).]  That's why this 1972 collaboration for Hank O'Neal's Chiaroscuro label is titled The Grand Reunion.

Braff makes a gorgeous sound on the cornet, conjuring the spirit of Louis Armstrong.  Larkins has a velvety touch, and his playing is beautifully lyrical.  This disc is proof that music doesn't necessarily have to be "contemporary" to be vital and heart-felt. 

Muhal Richard Abrams – Things To Come From Those Now Gone (Delmark, 1975)

Muhal Richard Abrams (p, syn); Wallace McMillan (fl, as); Edwin Daugherty (as, ts); Ari Brown (ts); Emmanuel Crenshaw (vib); Reggie Willis (b); Rufus Reid (b); Steve McCall (d); Wilbur Campbell (d); Ella Jackson (vo)

Recorded on October 10 - 11, 1972 

Write-up coming shortly.

Pat Martino – Head and Heart (32 Jazz, 1997)

Pat Martino (g); Ron Thomas (el p); Eddie Green (el p); Tyrone Brown (el b); Sherman Ferguson (d, perc)

Originally issued as 2 Muse LPs: Live! (1972) and Consciousness (1974)

Recorded in September 1972 [Live!] and October 7, 1974 [Consciousness]

In his original liner notes to Live!, Dan Morganstern has the following to say about Pat Martino:

"For Pat's gig, a number of guitarists were on hand -- as has been the case with all great musicians, the peers get the message first.  But whoever was there, it soon became evident, was there to listen.  Even the invited press shut up when the music got underway.

It would have been difficult to not listen -- not because the music was loud, but because it was compelling.   Even if you couldn't take in what was happening, you could see and feel the communion between the four men in the band.  The intensity, the total absorption of the players in making music, was something tangible, a force that transformed the surroundings and cleansed the air.  For the duration, dingy "Jazz City" became a temple of music.

If that sounds a bit like mysticism, well -- music 
is a mysterious force.   Today, when dimestore metaphysics flourish, one must be careful to avoid spiritual cliches.  I don't give a damn what Pat Martino's birth sign is or what constellation of the heavenly bodies was on the day of this recording, or whether he and his cohorts eat organic foods, study Zen, are into the I Ching, or practice yoga.

I do know that, unlike some self-professed mystics among musicians, these cats don't pose.  They wear contemporary street garb, utter no invocations, and don't act in attention-getting ways.  Whatever power they exude comes from what they do -- not from what they say, look and imply -- and what they do is communicate through the mystery of music, a feeling of wholeness, of being, of belonging."

His digs at other guitarists and "mystic lifestyles" aside, I think Morganstern's comments really speak to the intensity and passion in Martino's music. 

This is such wonderful, timeless music -- and it only could have been made in the 1970s.  There's something dark, even subterranean, about it.  Also, unlike much of the guitar-driven music of the decade, there's not even a whiff of concession to commercial pressures here.  This is their music, take it or leave it.

Jimmy Smith – Bluesmith (Verve, 1972)

Jimmy Smith (org); Teddy Edwards (ts); Ray Crawford (g); Leroy Vinnegar (b); Donald Dean (d); Victor Pantoja (cga)

Recorded on September 11, 1972 

Reissued on CD on Lilith, a Russian label, in 2006.

Conventional wisdom would dictate that THE Jimmy Smith record of the 1970s is Root Down (Verve, 1972).  I agree that it's a fantastic album.  Smith is on fire, and Arthur Adams' raucous guitar work gives the album a sound unlike any other LP in Jimmy Smith's discography.  But Bluesmith is my choice.  

If Root Down is a turbo-charged, pedal-to-the-metal, funky blast, then Bluesmith is an equally powerful, if lower-key affair.  Rather than boiling, the tunes on the latter album are blues that simmer darkly and hearken back to Smith most powerful statements of the 1950s and 1960s.

No one seems to talk about Bluesmith, and I don't know why it's such an overlooked album.  It doesn't make sense.  The album features a terrific band.  One of my all-time favorite tenor men, Teddy Edwards, brings his wonderfully charismatic voice to the proceedings, and guitarist Ray Crawford is soulful as ever.  In fact, everyone plays beautifully on this date.  (One oddity: It's always nice to hear Leroy Vinnegar, but I don't know why he's present here. Jimmy Smith usually handled the bass duties himself. But I suppose you could do a lot worse than bringing someone like Vinnegar aboard!  Just listening to the bass line he lays down at the beginning of "Absolutely Funky" below.)

If you've never heard the album before, give these tracks a listen.  I think you'll quickly be won over by this potent and deliciously bluesy music!

Paul Bley – Open, to Love (ECM, 1973)

Paul Bley (p)

Recorded on September 11, 1972

Write-up coming soon.

Richard Davis – Epistrophy & Now's the Time (Muse, 1972)

Richard Davis (b); Hannibal Marvin Peterson [Hannibal Lokumbe] (tr); Clifford Jordan (ts); Joe Bonner (p); Frederick Waits (d)

Recorded on September 7, 1972

Reissued on a Muse CD (with one bonus track) with a simplified title, Now's the Time, in 1989.

Write-up coming shortly.

James Moody – Never Again! (Muse, 1972)

James Moody (ts); Mickey Tucker (org); Roland Wilson (el b); Eddie Gladden (d) 

Recorded on June 8, 1972

Reissued on Xanadu as James Moody and the Hip Organ Trio in 1990.

This album has the distinction of being the very first record released on the Muse label.  Founded by Joe Fields and Don Schlitten, Muse was an immensely important label, documenting many important jazz artists in the 1970s and beyond.  Fields and Schlitten initially collaborated while working at Cobblestone Records, a subsidiary of Buddah.  In 1972, they started Muse.  (After a falling out in 1978, Fields and Schlitten dissolved their partnership.  Fields continued to operate Muse, and Schlitten went on to found Xanadu Records.  This is why several Schlitten-produced Muse LPs were subsequently reissued on Xanadu -- including this one.) 

What can you say about James Moody!?!?  He's one of the greats!  I think he probably doesn't get the respect he deserves from fans.  (Too often, he's characterized as Robin to Dizzy Gillespie's Batman.)  But musicians recognize Moody's towering stature.  They revere him, and rightly so.

Like all great jazzmen, Moody has a distinctive sound, a tone like no one else.  It's easy to discern Moody in just a few notes.  On Never Again!, Moody tackles two classics of the tenor saxophone: Sonny Rollins' "St. Thomas" and Eddie Harris' "Freedom Jazz Dance."  He makes both of them his own.

Along with being the first Muse LP to see the light of day, this was also Mickey Tucker's debut on disc.  He also composed three of the album's six cuts.  I think Tucker is one of the unsung heroes of the 1970s.  He was known primarily as a pianist, but on this release he sticks to the Hammond organ.  Later in the survey, we'll explore more of Tucker's discography as a leader.  He made several outstanding LPs.  His work here is an indicator of excellent things to come.

More James Moody
Moody's second (and final) LP for Muse, Feelin' It Togther (1973), is another outstanding effort.  And a third platter from the 1970s that any self-respecting James Moody fan needs to hear is Heritage Hum (Perception, 1972), a gorgeous LP featuring Moody's fabulous flute work.   

Chucho Valdés – Jazz Batá (Areito, 1973)

Chucho Valdés (p); Carlos del Puerto (b); Oscar Valdés (perc)

Recorded on June 5 - 6, 12 & July 3, 1972

Reissued on the Malanga label in 2007, paired with the music from another LP, Tema de Chaka (Areito, 1981).

Write-up coming soon.

Claude Hopkins – Soliloquy (Sackville, 1972)

Claude Hopkins (p)

Recorded on May 13, 1972

Claude Hopkins was a relatively well-known Swing-era big band leader.  Ironically, Hopkins preferred to play in a stride style, but rarely had an opportunity to do so -- until the latter part of his career.

Soliloquy is like eavesdropping on someone quietly ruminating on the past.  It's exquisitely understated, but also vivid and unforgettable. 

Anyone who enjoys pre-swing jazz styles -- especially stride -- should look into it.  It's a hidden gem.

More Claude Hopkins
Along with Soliloquy, Hopkins made a couple other records in the 1970s.  Foremost among them is Crazy Fingers (Chiaroscuro, 1973).  Safari Stomp (Black & Blue, 1974) is also worth investigating.

Julius Hemphill – Dogon A.D. (Mbari/Arista-Freedom/IPI, 1972)

Julius Hemphill (as, fl); Hamiet Bluiett (bs); Baikida Carroll (tr); Abdul Wadud (vc); Phillip Wilson (d)

Recorded in February 1972

Write up coming shortly.

Sonny Stitt – Endgame Brilliance (32 Jazz, 1997)

Originally issued as 2 LPs: Tune-Up! (Cobblestone, 1972) and Constellation (Cobblestone, 1972)

Sonny Stitt (as, ts); Barry Harris (p); Sam Jones (b); Roy Brooks (d); Alan Dawson (d)

Recorded on February 8, 1972 [Tune-Up!] and June 27, 1972 [Constellation]

I've gone round and round about which Sonny Stitt to choose for this survey.  During the 1970s, he made so many records in so many disparate styles, that it was very difficult to choose just one. 

So I decided to take the route of "conventional wisdom."  When most jazz fans talk about Stitt in the 1970s, Tune-Up! and Constellation are the two that regularly come up.  These albums find Stitt re-visiting the classic blues and be-bop sounds of the late-1940s and 1950s.  Both records feature Stitt supported by impeccable rhythm sections.  Bop master Barry Harris plays piano and Sam Jones is the bassist on both LPs.  Alan Dawson sits in the drummer's chair on Tune-Up!, while Roy Brooks does the same on Constellation.  Both LPs were produced by Don Schlitten, and they bear his stamps of quality and consistency.  I can't imagine anyone who likes jazz not enjoying this music -- even folks who aren't particularly fans of Sonny Stitt.

Over the years, I've grown to admire Sonny Stitt's music more and more.  His range extends much further than orthodox bop, so I thought it would be interesting to look at some more recordings from his huge discography.  Until recently, I didn't realize that Stitt made FIVE quartet albums during the 1970s that feature the piano & bass duo of Barry Harris and Sam Jones.  Strangely, each of the five LPs features a different drummer:
- Tune-Up! (Cobblestone/Muse, 1972) with Alan Dawson
- Constellation (Cobblestone/Muse, 1972) with Roy Brooks
- 12! (Prestige, 1973) with Louis Hayes
- My Buddy: Sonny Stitt Plays for Gene Ammons (Muse, 1976) with Leroy Williams
- Blues for Duke (Muse, 1978) with Billy Higgins

All of these are worth exploring, not just the first two!  For example, I really love Blues for Duke, a tribute to Ellington.  An Ellington tribute isn't the most original idea in the world.  It seems like nearly every jazz man's made one.  But I love this LP for all sorts of reasons.  The compositions are timeless Ellington classics, and there's nothing rote about the performances.  Billy Higgins is one of my all-time favorite musicians.  And Stitt seems genuinely inspired by the opportunity to make an album for Ellington.  

People associate Stitt with technique, and he certainly had no shortage of chops.  Yes, sometimes Stitt coasts, relying on his technique to get by.  This is perhaps inevitable, given the fact that he recorded so prolifically.  But to say that what he's about is unfair to Stitt.  Just listen to Blues for Duke.  He plays with real feeling, both on the Ellington pieces and the massively bluesy title cut.

I've also come to enjoy Sonny Stitt's soul-jazz.  On Bob Porter-produced albums like Turn It On! (Prestige, 1971) and Black Vibrations (1972), Stitt uses a Selmer Varitone to alter his sound.  This is a big turn off for some listeners (pun intended), but I dig it.  I wouldn't want to hear Stitt use the Varitone exclusively, but it does bring something different -- an almost violin-like aspect -- to his sound.  The same killer unit supports Stitt on both LPs: Virgil Jones (tr), Melvin Sparks (g), Leon Spencer (org), and Idris Muhammad (d.)  Turn It On! and Black Vibrations were reissued on Stitt's entry in the Legends of Acid Jazz series in 1996.

Given Stitt's enormous discography, we've only scratched the surface.  But these albums give listeners a sense of Stitt's range.  I sometimes wonder if jazz fans overlook him precisely because he made so many records, even though many of them bear little or no relationship to Stitt's tired, old "Bird clone" rap.

Chick Corea – Return to Forever (ECM, 1972)

Chick Corea (el p); Joe Farrell (ss, fl); Stanley Clarke (b, el b); Airto Moreira (d, perc); Flora Purim (vo, perc)

Recorded on February 2 - 3, 1972

This was an easy one.  Return to Forever is one of my "desert-island" discs, and I knew it would be part of this survey from the very beginning.

This short-lived first incarnation of Corea's first Return to Forever band -- with Airto, Flora, Joe Farrell, and Stanley Clarke -- only made two LPs: this eponymous 1972 album for ECM (which wasn't released in the U.S. until 1975) and Light as a Feather (Polydor, 1973).  Later Return to Forever line-ups were more well-known and sold more records.  But, from this listener's perspective, none of them soared as high as the first RTF group.

Two things set this first group apart.  Instead of combining jazz with rock, this first group blends Brazilian (and other Latin elements) with jazz.  Obviously, the contributions from the Brazilians Airto Moreira and Flora Purim were absolutely central to the group's sound.  The other piece of the puzzle is Joe Farrell.  Later RTF groups featured guitarists (Bill Connors, Al DiMeola), but a Farrell's sax and (especially) flute are key features of this group's sound.  

There's something about this RTF band that I've never heard elsewhere. They put together disparate elements in a unique way.  The music has a simplicity that's innocent and child-like -- but at the same time the music is complex and driving and unusual, particularly from a rhythmic point of view.  The same seemingly paradoxical qualities could be used to describe Flora Purim's voice, which soars from the simple to the strange, from innocence to sensuousness, from very refined to very raw.

Lastly, it's impossible to discuss this music without mentioning Chick Corea -- both as a musician and as a composer.  He's such a master of the Fender Rhodes electric piano!  I can't think of any artist who uses it to such expressive ends.  And it's no surprise that he's regarded as one of the finest composers of his generation.  Just listen to the compositions on this album -- not to mention "Spain", "500 Miles High", "Windows," and so many others.

More Chick Corea
Light as a Feather is almost as good as their ECM debut.  I'd also recommend Chick's two solo-piano albums for ECM: Piano Improvisations, Vol. 1 (1971) and Piano Improvisations, Vol. 2 (1972).

I'll be re-visiting Corea as a co-leader later in the survey.

Hugh Masekela – Home Is Where the Music Is (Chisa/Blue Thumb, 1972)

Hugh Masekela (tr); Dudu Pukwana (as); Larry Willis (p, el p); Eddie Gómez (el b); Makaya Ntshoko (d)

Recorded in January 1972

Reissued on vinyl as The Africa Connection in the ABC Impulse "Dedication Series" (1978).

Other than Hugh Masekela's number one hit from 1968, "Grazing in the Grass," I was completely unfamiliar with his music -- until I heard Home Is Where the Music Is.  I discovered the album just a few years ago, while doing research for this project. The music is so soulful and lyrical and immediately appealing, it quickly became one of my "new" favorites.

Originally released as a 2-LP set, the album is like a perfect meal.  Everything comes together beautifully: musicians, compositions, arrangements, production. It all works.

Three of the musicians here are South African: Masekela, Dudu Pukwana, and Makaya Ntshoko.  We've already encountered Pukwana's reedy and passionate alto sax as a member of Chris MacGregor's Brotherhood of Breath.  Ntshoko initially gained notoriety as a drummer with fellow South African Dollar Brand/Abdullah Ibrahim.  The three South Africans bring "Cape Jazz" and Afrobeat elements to this music, blending it seamlessly with more familiar-sounding African-American jazz, blues, and soul sounds.

The contributions from the two American musicians are also worth noting.  Larry Willis has long been one of my favorite musicians, and his piano and electric piano work throughout is superb.  Willis' gentle lyricism adds so much to this record, and Eddie Gómez is his normal swinging and propulsive self.

I understand that this album is atypical, compared with other albums in Masekela's discography.  I haven't heard enough to know whether this is true.  I'd love to hear from anyone who thinks there are other "essential" Masekela records that I need to hear. 

Larry Coryell – The Offering (Vanguard/Wounded Bird, 1972)

Larry Coryell (g); Steve Marcus (ss); Mike Mandel (el p); Mervin Bronson (b); Harry Wilkinson (d)

Recorded on January 17, 18, 20, 1972

The Offering features Coryell's distinctive electric guitar work.  Known as "The Godfather of Fusion," Coryell combined jazz with Hendrix-like rock influences and Eastern sounds.  

Some of Coryell's releases lean more towards rock while others are more jazz-oriented.  I think The Offering manages to balance both of sides of the coin very convincingly. 

The band is solid and swinging. It includes Coryell's childhood friend Mike Mandel on keyboards as well as excellent soprano sax work from Steve Marcus.  Plus the compositions are strong.

More Larry Coryell
Barefoot Boy (Flying Dutchman, 1971) is another excellent record.  Like The Offering, it features Coryell's electric guitar work.  If you'd like to hear Coryell in acoustic mode, I'd recommend The Restful Mind (Vanguard, 1975) -- with Ralph Towner, Glen Moore, and Collin Walcott from Oregon -- as well as Standing Ovation: Solo (Mood/Arista Novus, 1978).  I've also enjoyed Coryell's collaborations with Belgian guitarist Philip Catherine, Twin House (Elektra, 1977) and Splendid (Elektra, 1978).

Weather Report – Live in Tokyo (CBS Japan/Wounded Bird, 1972)

Joe Zawinul (p, el p, syn); Wayne Shorter (ss, ts); Miroslav Vitous (b); Eric Gravatt (d); Dom Um Romão (perc)

Recorded on January 13, 1972

From Curt Bianchi's excellent site, Weather Report: The Annotated Discography:

In January 1972 Weather Report played five sold out concerts in Japan. The January 13 performance at the Shibuya Philharmonic Hall in Tokyo was recorded by Columbia, from which came the tracks on the second side of I Sing the Body Electric.  Live in Tokyo presents the entire evening’s performance, capturing the “sheer power the group could generate in performance,” as Zawinul biographer Brian Glasser put it. “While side two of I Sing the Body Electric gives us heavily edited glimpses of Weather Report as heard live in Tokyo, this two-disc Japanese import contains entire group ensembles from that concert--and as such, it is a revelation.” He goes on to say, “This would be the radical apogee of Weather Report on records, though they could retain this level of fire in concert for years to come” (143-144).

Part of the fire seemed to come from the Japanese people themselves. “When we went to Japan,” Zawinul recalled, “we didn’t know what kind of a response we would get, but I couldn’t believe what happened. We thought, ‘What are we gonna do with these Japanese people, man?’ They’re so beautiful, such wonderful listeners, but laid back. That was their culture. So we said, ‘Let’s hit ’em hard, right from the first note,’ and we hit ’em hard! We improvised, because the tunes we had written at that time were not very long--eight bars here, a nice little melody, and so on--but we worked it over, and sometimes we’d play it long, sometimes short. It was an inspirational way of doing things, and through that slowly we developed into a band” (144).

This music is such a strange combination of visceral impact and abstraction!  I can't think of anything else like it.

Incidentally, I strongly agree with Zawinul biographer Brian Glasser that this concert is the "apogee of Weather Report on records."  I enjoy the band's studio albums, but the live recordings seem to stand apart -- particularly Live in Tokyo and the archival 4-CD set The Legendary Live Tapes: 1978-1981 (Sony, 2015).  Although Joe Zawinul and Wayne Shorter were the de facto leaders of the band, it seems like Wayne sometimes exerted little influence in the studio, choosing instead to defer to Zawinul's leadership.  But, on stage, Shorter was much more forceful and willing to lead musically.